In one of the most ambitious conservation projects ever undertaken, 20 UK species facing extinction will be brought Back from the Brink thanks to £4.6 million from the National Lottery.
Back from the Brink aims to save our most rare and elusive species, including the shrill carder bee, chequered skipper butterfly, ladybird spider and northern dune tiger beetle from extinction.
The habitat conservation work involved in saving these rare species will also benefit other threatened creatures including the field cricket, little whirlpool ramshorn snail, long-eared bat and pine marten.
In the South East, the Heritage Lottery funding will help us manage sensitive habitats for two species which we are already working to protect on our Pulborough Brooks and Farnham Heath nature reserves.
Two of the three remaining breeding populations of the lesser whirlpool ramshorn snail, or Anisus Vorticulus, are found in Sussex; with one population based at our RSPB Pulborough Brooks reserve. Despite the fact it is only 5mm in length, this fascinating snail can survive both extreme drought (desiccation) and freezing. it needs carefully managed drainage ditches to breed successfully, and this funding will help us to expand it's range on the reserve, making the population more resilient.
At RSPB Farnham Heath in Surrey, a small field cricket population was successfully established on an isolated area of restored heathland through translocation in 2010/11. It is now one of the largest field cricket populations in the UK. The Back from the Brink project will help strengthen this population, by trying to establish a second colony on a different part of the heath. The field cricket, or Gryllus campestris, is the most endangered true cricket species in Britain. Unlike most other crickets or grasshoppers, field crickets are flightless, so are unable to migrate long distances between fragmented habitats as they have to walk everywhere. There are also plans to establish a population at RSPB Pulborough Brooks reserve, by introducing young from population at Parham Park, which is adjacent to the Pulborough Brooks reserve.
Back from the Brink is the first nationwide coordinated effort to bring a wide range of leading charities and conservation bodies together to save threatened species. Natural England, the government’s wildlife advisory body, will work in partnership with and the RSPB, Amphibian and Reptile Trust, Bat Conservation Trust, Buglife, Bumblebee Conservation Trust, Butterfly Conservation and Plantlife to pool expertise, develop new ways of working and inspire people across the country to discover, value and act for threatened animals, plants and fungi.
The programme also aims to inspire the nation to discover, value and "act" for threatened species and take steps to help them.
This ground-breaking programme will:
Discover more about the wider Back from the Brink project